The competition rules for the long-range shooting group are relatively strict, the registration requirements are very demanding, and the number of participants is the least among all events.
Even though today is a national competition, athletes have come to Tokyo from all over the country to participate in the long-shot competition, but their number is not large, with only 18 people in the men's and women's groups combined.
Having said that, precisely because there are so few people, each player is very strong.
The players in the second group performed well and had a high hit rate.
"Have a drink of water."
As Kurosawa Hikaru returned to the preparation seat, Uesugi Masaki came over and handed him a portable water bottle.
"Thank you, teacher."
When Kurosawa Mitsuru saw his actions, he also took it with a smile.
Since he came on the court, he has been waiting in the preparation seat and he has not had any water for more than two hours.
"Have a good rest. I'll go retrieve the arrow."
Seeing him drinking water without sweating a drop, Uesugi Masaki looked at him with great pride and complacency, and said.
The arrow misses of Kyudo players are classified according to the length of their arms, and the lengths are not exactly the same.
Although the contestants can also provide arrows, usually it is more convenient and familiar to bring your own.
After exchanging a few simple pleasantries with him, Kurosawa Mitsuru took a few sips of water to moisten his throat, then closed the bottle cap, put it next to his feet, and started watching the game.
I'm just sitting there doing nothing, and I can't play with my phone or do anything else on the bench, so this is the only way.
The competition proceeded in an orderly manner. Not long after, the long-range shooting group competition ended. Including Kurosawa Hikaru, a total of seven people advanced to the second round.
"This Kurosawa is really good."
Shifengyuan Zhenlong, who was sitting in the audience, was very satisfied when he saw this scene.
He always has a smile on his face. The more he sees other people's achievements and levels, the more satisfied and fond of Kurosawa Hikaru's potential and ability he feels.
This young man, although still young, possesses such superb archery skills and such strong physical talents. It is definitely a matter of time before he reaches the top of Kyudo.
Shifengyuan Mirai sat next to her grandfather. Their seats were better, located on the side, so they could see the faces of all the contestants and the situation of the targets.
"Two..."
That's right, Shifengyuan Mirai also noticed the results achieved by Kurosawa Hikaru in the first round of archery.
"Did she do something?"
Noticing this, she slightly side-glanced and looked at the few people in the distance.
In that place, there was a blonde girl with blue eyes. She was very beautiful and dressed sweetly and elegantly.
She can actually influence Kurosawa's decision. It seems that Yuki Ichinose is more important to Kurosawa than she expected.
"Yuki, how come your boyfriend is so good at Kyudo?"
On the other side, Qiu Yuekui was simply stunned.
Ten arrows, all hit the bull's eye, this is crazy.
Upon hearing this, the others nodded, looking at Kurosawa Mitsuru in surprise, and then at Ichinose Yuki.
"whee."
Being stared at with envy by everyone and hearing everyone praising Guang Ni, Ichinose Yuki felt very proud.
"Hahaha, it's right to bring you guys to watch the game, right? Kurosawa is really fierce."
Seeing everyone stunned and convinced, Shiina Ai was very excited.
Compared to the first round, the competition starts from the second round. As the number of people decreases, the time will be relatively faster.
Of course, a competition is a competition, and kyudo competitions usually take place throughout the day, without skipping any part and without missing any player.
Kurosawa Hikaru was quite patient about this matter.
After all, the individual competition is held in the morning and the team competition is held in the afternoon, so the players have to wait a long time.
In fact, many people also sign up for individual competitions while participating in team competitions.
The reason why Kurosawa Hikaru did not participate in the team competition was, firstly, because the Kyudo Club of the University of Tokyo was not strong enough, and secondly, he was not interested in close shooting.
After a long wait, as the game continued to progress, the broadcast sounded, making the entire stadium hot again.
"Next, the second round of the men's individual long-range shooting competition will be held. Because there are only five men who have advanced to the second round, according to the rules, if there are less than six people, it will be the finals."
"The rules of the finals are different from the first round. Each person shoots 12 arrows. After shooting all 12 arrows, the one with the highest number of hits is the champion. If two people have the same number of hits, there will be no limit on the number of arrows they can shoot until whoever misses the target first is the runner-up."
"Contestants who heard your name, please come on stage one by one."
"Ritsumeikan..."
"The University of Tokyo, Kurosawa Hikaru."
"Kurosawa! Kurosawa! Kurosawa!"
As the announcer called out Kurosawa Hikaru's name again, the atmosphere in the venue was ignited once again. All the audience were eagerly shouting a name, as if they were welcoming a hero to appear.
Kurosawa Mitsuru couldn't wave his hand in response to the overwhelming cheers, because the etiquette of Kyudo did not allow such frivolous movements.
He just stood up, walked to the shooting point step by step, and then waited for the order.
For his players, this kind of cheering is like being on an away field, making people uneasy and even frustrated.
No matter what state his opponent was in, Kurosawa Mitsuru ignored it and just waited and shot the arrow when it was his turn.
There were no surprises and no suspense. There was no way that there would be any flaws in Kurosawa Mitsuru's archery skills.
In the national finals, Kurosawa Hikaru directly won the competition by hitting all 12 arrows.
"All hits! All hits again!"
As he hit the bull's eye with another arrow, the announcer could no longer contain his excitement, and his voice echoed throughout the venue through the microphone.
"The 34th Neon National University Kyudo Competition, the national finals men's individual long-range shooting category, the national champion has been born! That's Kurosawa."
"Since the start of this tournament, Kurosawa has shot a total of 24 arrows in the long-range shooting competition."
"24 arrows, 100% hit rate, and all of them were bullseye! Such a record is unprecedented and will never be repeated, even in history!"
"What's more, Kurosawa has a unique skill, which is to shoot an arrow through a target from a hundred steps away, an ultra-long-range shot of 160 meters!"
"The long-range shooting competition has not yet ended, and there are still two contestants in the women's group competing individually. I wonder if we will have the opportunity to see Kurosawa perform his 160-meter ultra-long-range shooting skills again after the women's finals are over."
The announcer's explanation and introduction allowed people to feel the horror of the data more intuitively and realistically.
Following these words, the audience's attention was focused on Kurosawa Hikaru, wanting to know if they could still see his performance.
Facing countless gazes, Kurosawa Mitsuru stood with a bow in his hand and nodded.
"Wow!"
Seeing his affirmation, the audience was excited.
In fact, when Kurosawa Hikaru participated in this competition, the championship was already decided.
With his perfect archery skills, it was too easy for him to win this kind of college student competition.
However, the result is not important; the key lies in the process and the performance.
On the first day of the Kanto regional competition, he tried his best, unleashed his potential, and broke through his limits with his accuracy.
And today, he will use Yang Youji's bow to fully unleash the power of perfect archery, become famous in one battle, and achieve an unprecedented record.
“This is too noisy…”
A judge in the judging booth couldn't help but frown when he heard the audience cheering Kurosawa's name.
Kyudo is a very elegant martial art. It is quiet and peaceful, which is its tradition.
"What do you know? When has Kyudo ever been so grand?"
When Sato Shin heard his mumbling, he immediately became unhappy and glared at him.
Perhaps this is a small stage that belongs exclusively to students, but there is a hidden dragon in the abyss, destined to soar into the sky.
Brother Kurosawa impressed everyone with his absolute strength and spectacular archery skills.
More importantly, such a terrifying influence means that Kurosawa is very likely to break the inherent pattern of traditional Kyudo and lead Kyudo into a new era.
"You are right."
The judges, who were already hearing pain from the noise of the audience, did not dare to retort after being scolded by him.
"Contestant Kurosawa has nodded. Does this mean he will continue to perform the miracle of shooting an arrow through a target from a hundred paces away? Please ask Contestant Kurosawa to leave the stage and rest for a while. We will invite him to perform after the women's final is over."
Amid the enthusiastic cheers of the audience, the announcer's voice, like a commercial suddenly interrupting a TV program at the most exciting moment, broke the mood.
"Can't we just start?"
"It doesn't matter if we compete in the women's final or not."
"That's right, there are only two of us, and their skills are not very good."
"Let Kurosawa shoot the arrows."
When people realized they had to wait, they immediately became dissatisfied and booed and some even shouted loudly.
The two female college students sitting in the preparation seat were eager to give it a try after seeing Kurosawa Mitsuru's unparalleled archery skills.
But now, the audience's booing was like a bucket of cold water poured on their heads.
For a moment, their hearts sank and they were at a loss.
This situation also confused the staff responsible for the broadcast. They never expected it to unfold and happen like this.
Kurosawa Mitsuru, who was leaving the shooting point, stopped when he heard the boos from the crowd.
Then, he deviated from his route and no longer went to the preparation seat, but walked to the side.
“Buzz!”
Soon, a sharp and loud microphone sound resounded throughout the venue, forcibly suppressing all the boos.
"Each contestant has put in countless days and nights of hard work and perseverance to be able to stand on the national stage. Regardless of the number of people or gender, everyone gathers here because they love Kyudo. This is true for the contestants and the audience. Please respect and look forward to the performance of each contestant."
Then, a deep and magnetic voice echoed in the martial arts hall.
"Also, I'm a little tired after shooting twelve arrows in a row. I need to take a break during this interval. Please forgive me."
Although not all viewers have heard Kurosawa Hikaru's voice, many people can feel that the person speaking is Kurosawa.
After realizing this, the audience, who had been booing because of the lively atmosphere and excitement, were all stunned and sat back in their seats obediently.
At the same time, although he was unilaterally rejected by a message, Miki Shiraha still came to watch the game.
Unlike others who came in groups, she came to watch the game alone. Even though there were alumni from the University of Tokyo, no one sat with her.
"Kurosawa-senpai..."
Miki Shiraha's beautiful eyes were fixed on Kurosawa Hikaru, who was speaking with the microphone in front of the broadcast booth, and she was deeply moved.
What should she do? Even though she knew that Senior Kurosawa had a girlfriend, she still couldn't contain her love for him.
She was in a very enthusiastic mood, with her hands pressed tightly on her legs. If it weren't for the separation between the stadium and the audience seats, she would have wanted to run over and talk to Senior Kurosawa right away.